SmartThings, the latest fan favorite on Kickstarter, wants to add some intelligence to the things in your physical world and connect them to the internet so you can control, automate, and monitor them from anywhere.
The Minneapolis based company has created what they call SmartApps to connect to and control a core set of launch ready devices such as power outlets as well as motion, presence, and open/close sensors right from your smartphone. This would enable you to keep an eye on a pet, secure a door, or turn on a light, or anything else you could imagine. You can even set up your devices to interact with cues from social media.
And that’s just the core stuff! SmartThings are designed to be compatible with tons of existing sensors already on the market today like door locks, thermostats, temperature and humidity sensors, in-wall switches and dimmers, smoke and CO2 alarms, flood sensors, vibration and pressure sensors, and more. With just a little bit of creativity your house could be programmed or controlled to do just about anything.
All of these devices connect through what is called the SmartThings Hub. The Hub connects to your existing network right out of the box, has range of up to 300ft, and can support up to 100 devices. What’s more, the mesh networking technology extends the range even further by allowing individual connected devices to connect to the Hub through each other.
After only a day the company has already managed to raise $100k and their $99 early bird special pledge has already sold out so, if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on a SmartThing Hub, 3 “things,” and avoid monthly fees FOREVER, get ready to shell out $150 but, don’t wait too long, there are only 400 slots left and the next level will set you back a cool $200.
Once the Kickstarter campaign is over, regular customers will have to pay between $5 and $10 per month to access the service – don’t snooze!
